Police warn of stolen goods as shopping season arrives
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, Calgary police are warning the public to be wary of unwittingly buying items that were previously stolen.
Organized retail crime is part of a growing issue in Calgary and across the province, which has prompted Calgary police to team up with the Edmonton and Lethbridge police services, as well as Airdrie RCMP.
Organized retail crime is the premeditated theft of consumer goods for the purpose of illegally selling the merchandise for cash, according to Calgary police. The items are usually taken through planned, systematic shoplifting and then sold to the public through classified ads, online sales, flea markets or on the black market.
Calgary and surrounding area retailers have reported a collective loss of about $10 million this year. Designer fashion and highend fragrance retailers, cosmetics businesses and athletic-wear companies were some of the most common types of businesses to report losses.
Others included bookstores, electronics businesses, grocery stores and liquor stores.
Besides obvious “grab-and-run” incidents, offenders often pull off the theft by concealing items in specially lined bags that won’t set off store detectors. They use demagnetizing devices to overcome anti-theft devices, or even cut or rip off item tags.
Stolen goods are then advertised and sold at discount prices — an attractive deal for buyers who may be unaware that they are purchasing a stolen item.
Other instances of organized retail crime involve the offender trying to return a fake product to a store in an attempt to get a refund for something they never purchased.
The effect of the crime is higher prices for consumers, as retailers cover the loss of stolen items and the cost of added security to prevent further theft.
“While it may seem harmless, purchasing stolen goods feeds criminal organizations and gives them easy money that helps them branch into other illegal activities,” said Const. Kevin Anderson of the Calgary Police Service Organized Retail Crime team.
“We know that many of the goods stolen in our city are initially traded for drugs, which means when those same goods are sold down the road, the money is going directly to the drug trade and to people who have little regard for the safety of our communities.”
Calgary police say the number of reported shoplifting cases rose from 5,188 to 5,232 from 2016 to 2017. There have been more than 3,650 reported cases this year, as of the end of September.
Organized retail crime costs Canadian retailers an estimated $4.6 billion each year, according to police.
Consumers can avoid purchasing stolen goods by sticking to licensed, reputable businesses, and questioning sellers how they obtained the property and why they are selling it so cheap.
“The message we’re really hoping to get out here is that … we can help prevent organized retail crime by recognizing the crime itself and refusing to buy items that we believe to be stolen items,” said Anderson.
“If the deal’s too good to be true, if you’re purchasing something that’s brand new in the box and it’s a fraction of the price of the original item … this might be a stolen item.”
Anyone who recognizes suspicious activity is encouraged to contact police.